By James Sablan
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE CNMI Majors All-Star Team tasted redemption on Monday as they clinched their first win in the 2026 Little League Asia-Pacific & Middle East Regional Tournament, edging Indonesia 5-4 through six grueling innings at Hwaseong Dream Park in South Korea.
Despite out-hitting Indonesia eight to four, the CNMI team found themselves in a defensive dogfight due to three costly fielding errors. Indonesia’s disciplined plate approach kept the pressure on, leaving seven runners stranded on base as they continuously threatened to break the game open.
Both starting pitchers dominated the opening frames, trading scoreless innings through the first two frames.
In the top of the third inning, Indonesia struck first, manufacturing a run, but CNMI answered immediately in the bottom half by capitalizing on timely hitting to score two runs and take a 2-1 lead.
After a quiet fourth inning, the game exploded in the fifth. Indonesia pushed across two runs to briefly retake a 3-2 lead. However, refusing to back down, the CNMI bats came alive in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs to reclaim the lead, 5-3.
In the top of the sixth, Indonesia added another run to cut the deficit. CNMI held Indonesia scoreless in the bottom half of the frame and preserved the lead to secure the 5-4 victory.
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
